Request

1. How much public money has the NHS Business Services Authority spent from 2020 - 2025 on staff volunteering, attributing costs of giving people time away from their job to do volunteering, any expenses and travel costs

2. How much dedicated resource does the NHS Business Services Authority have in terms of staff employed to manage volunteering and fundraising, number of staff head count, including salary, on costs and anything in addition to this around training and engagement expenses

3. How much does it cost the NHS Business services authority annually to release staff on the allotted 15 hours paid volunteers leave (prorata for those who are not full time) break down of costs for 2020,2021,2022,2023,2024,2025

4. What is the projected costs for volunteering based on days lost from their paid roles for 2025 to 2028. To include salary, on costs anything in addition to this around training, engagement expenses

5. What are the safety measures in place to ensure that there are no safeguarding issues for staff engaging in volunteering

6. How much does public liability insurance and attributing costs equate to

7. What is the management system for volunteering and how much does that cost including , procurement exercises, administrative and roll out of training costs

8. Rationale for having all of the above in the current economic climate as a public sector organisation

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Our response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information and notes explaining it is below. All data as of 11 April 2025.

Question 1 - How much public money has the NHS Business Services Authority spent from 2020 - 2025 on staff volunteering, attributing costs of giving people time away from their job to do volunteering, any expenses and travel costs.

Please see the cost below associated with supporting employees to take part in community volunteering.

Expenses and travel costs are not covered by NHSBSA Volunteering policy. This is the responsibility of the employee.

£165,302.70

Question 2 - How much dedicated resource does the NHS Business Services Authority have in terms of staff employed to manage volunteering and fundraising, number of staff head count, including salary, on costs and anything in addition to this around training and engagement expenses.

There are currently 2 FTE employed to manage volunteering and fundraising activities.

This includes one permanent Band 7 (NHS Pay scale £46,1482 - £52,809) and one temporary Band 6 (NHS Pay scale £37,3382 - £44,962).

Total cost to the NHSBSA for those roles is £58,956.28 - £67,574.28 and £47,557.90 - £57,421.84.

There are no associated training or engagement expenses.

Question 3 - How much does it cost the NHS Business services authority annually to release staff on the allotted 15 hours paid volunteers leave (pro rata for those who are not full time) break down of costs for 2020,2021,2022,2023,2024,2025.

Please see the salary cost per year below:

• 2020: £9,537.30
• 2021: £8,166.15
• 2022: £16,083.42
• 2023: £33,587.95
• 2024: £69,357.26
• 2025 (Jan-April): £28,570.62

Question 4 - What are the projected costs for volunteering based on days lost from their paid roles for 2025 to 2028? To include salary, on costs anything in addition to this around training, engagement expenses.

Please see the projected costs below per year below:

• 2025: £100,714.46
• 2026: £114,548.64
• 2027: £134,437.92
• 2028: £154,327.20

The projected costs for volunteering for the current year 2025 – 2028 (including salary and on-costs). There are no expected training or engagement costs.

Question 5 - What are the safety measures in place to ensure that there are no safeguarding issues for staff engaging in volunteering.

Employees are responsible for obtaining a H&S risk assessment from the hosting organisation which is then used to support their application to request volunteering leave. This is authorised by the individuals line manager if deemed ‘suitable and sufficient’. Further support can be obtained from our internal H&S function if required.

For those events arranged centrally, due diligence activities are undertaken by the team responsible for Volunteering and Fundraising.

Question 6 - How much does public liability insurance and attributing costs equate to.

Nil – all insurance costs are covered by hosting organisations.

Question - 7 What is the management system for volunteering and how much does that cost including, procurement exercises, administrative and roll out of training costs.

The management system for volunteering is governed by the NHSBSA Volunteering policy. Suitable opportunities are identified internally and coordinated by the Social Impact Team.

No procurement exercises, additional administration and training costs are associated with these internal processes.

Question 8 - Rationale for having all of the above in the current economic climate as a public sector organisation.

As a public sector organisation delivering on behalf of the taxpayer, we are committed to our social responsibilities and contributing to a more sustainable future.

As part of our five-year strategy, we have made a commitment under our Environment, Social and Governance strategic objective to ‘make a long-term difference to the people and places we work in and with’ by donating 50,000 hours of volunteering to charitable and community organisations in addition to supporting our aspirations around social mobility (to place in the top 75 employers in the Social Mobility Employer Index) and Environment and Sustainability.

In addition to being a key strategic objective, our Volunteering and Fundraising programme underpins a number of other key strategic priorities and is utilised as a cost effective and efficient tool to deliver these ambitions in a challenging economic environment. This includes:

Providing an excellent experience when customers are accessing our services. Connecting our employees with their local communities enables them to understand our client base and their needs. Exceptional customer service is delivered on first contact driving efficiencies across our service portfolio.

Supporting the NHSBSA to achieve a 3-star accreditation in the Best Companies Index. Our Volunteering and Fundraising programmes are consistently recognised and acknowledged by our colleagues under the ‘Giving Something Back’ section of our annual employee survey enabling us to score highly in the benchmarking process. This accreditation forms an important part of our talent attraction offer.

Helping us to attract, develop and retain a diverse workforce in a challenging employment market. Our volunteering offer is a fundamental part of our benefits package and Employer Value Proposition (EVP) that enables us to compete with other local and national employers in attracting the very best talent. It also serves as a cost-effective method of professional development that cannot be replicated by training courses alone and enables team building and connection to take place without the expense of hosting external events in offsite venues. This is fundamental now that hybrid/ home working is predominant across the organisation and whilst significant savings have been made as a consequence of home working, it is acknowledged that peer support and connection are necessary for a mentally healthy and connected workforce. This is possible through supporting volunteering and fundraising activities.

Data Queries

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http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

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